Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1887-04-05
PARIS. MAINE. TUESDAY. APRIL 8. 1887.


subjects for long petition TO the Throne
Of Grace. Aunt Betty getting impatient,
Mrs. Sumner went 10 her husband and
informed him that the erone " shed TO see
him.
"Ist her wait. ! can pray better when
the ID /. near. Was hi. response.
II i, needles. TO say that ,be bad 10
wsi, I'LL hi, soul va, Abandsh,ly 's,i'-
6ed. Aun, Betty. call supplied him
with fresh material. and he prayed Iona
and f,rven,ly for the conversion OF those
Who have familiar spirits. witches. scan
d.l.mongsrs. and the whole train ofevil-
disposed aud wicked ones. who 20 about
among the children Of men, only TO be
sources Of annoyance and pitfalls OF sin.
At Las, IL was finished.
"wsll. Aunt Betty. wha, i' Il ihs,
YOU are 90 AnNiou. TO see me about" he
siid after they had exchanged greetings.
I'll waited 20 hear sbou, our soldiers in
Capt. Jon,.s company, and though, ]
bad rather come here Tor the Information.
a. | rarely go TO the Jones" she replied.
trying TO conceal the fact ,hst she was
interested In the fate Of samuel Taylor
alone. for reason. that ate apparent TO the
reader. She bad heard from Sally
Packard. that he was only wounded. and
was quite certain 10 reach home. in spite
Of her prophecy. and she determined to
see no one bat Dssoon Simmer. aud
ascertain the exact facts. When be
hsd given her the full information. ,he
rose to 70. and W. politely aud kladly
,hown TO the door and blde good night.
AFTER al. she muiiefed a. the door
closed behind her. "he may be Injured
more than they imagine. aud may never
see hi. home again"
Ga rising piece Of land. overlooking
the valley. in which the village was sii'
ua'el, and Aboa, half mile from Il. vas
the hut Of Aunt Betty. 4 grove OF
laige pine trees surrounded H. The OUT
look from it va. hne. To the south
~.rd Jay the village, and ihe country
could be seen for mile, sroand. From
-t,i 90 cas-, through the valley ran
stream Of water on which a, the lower
end Of the village, mills were erected.
Three road. csh,srsd a, the little store
and po,, office. and rAn a. one along The
bank of the stream toward the eastward.
The church was siusisd on the highway
leading from the northwest, aud from y,
10 Aun, Bs,iy's hut. w1s path aero"
the fisld. aud up the bill
Her habii.,ion bad one room With a
small attic overhead. which ". reached
by ladder through ssu,ile. !, va,
getting out Of repair. though h had
originally been built of the be', pine
lumber. and bad well stood the storms OF
summer snd winter fof many years. A
spring Of pure water flowed from the
grove =, IL. eastern side. Ani near ii vi:
a rude sea, on which she vas seeusiom.
ed 10 u, in Spring and Autumn. TO catch
the esilis,, ray. Of the rising SUI. South
Of this she had little garden patch in
which a few vegetable, and herbs we're
grown, but these we're not suiicien, for
her maintenance. She lived principally
by charity. particularly in the WATER sea.
500, though she sometimes told fortunes.
and by ,hi. mean. ob,ainsd something
with ~hieh TO procure the neess'.rie' OF
lie. It va, supposed by some that che
had money bid away in her hut, 6u,
there va. no foundation ioi such a belief
She used 10 make periodical visit. 10 Bo.-
ton, bu, these had nov entirely ceased
40 one Ia the community knew What
her surname wa.. She never bad any
mail from abroad. aud i, vas uncertain
whAi her Anieeeden's were. The OLD
looked upoa her a. a strange being whom
/, was bss, 20 humor. while the young
con,idsred her a. In league with Satan,
And 20 be avoided ~ ell hazards. There
were some few exceptions hoNever.
Samuel Taylor bal an inisnse desire TO
solve the mystery that surrounded her,
and ~h,n a, home had tired ia various
way. TO DO 30. bat without avail. lie
left off bic investigation, - he bad be-
gun. jas, I. puzzled and as euriou, to
learn something Of her history As before.
For ,hi. Amcns other reasons be bal got
her III will and enmi,y.
sally Packard was Aun. Bs,iy's faith
ful ally. and a. completely under her
control u a child under i,s parents.
She was ever ready TO DO her bidding. TO
be sen, on qae,,ion.ble errsnd'. OF TO 30.
liei, patronage or charity in the erones
behalf, as opportunity presented itself or
occasion required.
IL va. . moonlight evening a. Aunt
BETTY wen, slowly homevard TO her hut
among the pines. A. she passed The
house Of the minister she heard his
daughter Ruth singing PATRIOTS ait.
She finished, and Immediately began a
pl.intye song. which was sung with
such a eleArness Of tone, and such sweet
ns. Of melody. that i, held the erone
spell.bound. Her old heart was warmed
and melted =. /, had not been Tor many
day.
"Gol ble,. the angel" WAS her invol-
unt,ry exclamation, a. she went ber way.
Reaching the SUNNI, Of the hill she
stopped few moments 70 take breath,
and turned TO look inio the valley. In
pressed with the beautiful scene a, her
feet, she seemed to be touched with its
lovelines., and as II a feeling had come
over her tha. life nigh, have had iis
charm. even for her, she uttered aloud.
30. Stephen. how could you leave me
10 live and die unloved and alone ?
A cracking Of ,wigs n the grove near
the spring interrupted the train Of her
reflections. and she di.e,rned dark ob.
ject hastily moving on, Of sight. She
could not tell whether It va. man OF
beast, but as she had no fear Of either,
she though, nothing Of the occurrence,
aud wsaried with her days exsr,ion'. she
wen, into her cherries home. and was
soon completely under the influence Of
,hs, phenomenon which affects us ell
alike once In twenty .iour hours.
Two hour. later. the tall figure Of a
man ben, over the sleeping form Of Aun,
Il a. a.. -. al ...,on .ktntog th,nu,h tha